Most employees decide whether to stay or leave in their first weeks at work, and sometimes on day one. Onboarding is not a pleasant formality but a tool that directly determines whether your investment in hiring pays off or turns into a loss.
A newcomer without a clear ramp-up plan spends the first weeks figuring out the basics — who does what, where to get access, who to ask. During this time they add no value, yet the company is already paying their salary and has invested in hiring them. Systematic onboarding shortens this period and reduces the risk of early departure.
Why onboarding matters: goals and objectives
Goals
- Shorten the time it takes an employee to reach full productivity.
- Reduce turnover during probation and in the first 3–6 months.
- Give the newcomer clear rules, goals and team culture instead of guesswork.
- Protect the investment in hiring, which is lost when someone leaves early.
Objectives
- Prepare the workstation, access and documents before the employee starts.
- Pass on basic knowledge about the company, product and processes.
- Assign a mentor or buddy for everyday questions.
- Set the first real tasks with clear success criteria.
- Collect feedback at key points — days 3, 30 and 90.
It is important to define in advance what counts as “successful” onboarding for a specific role — without this, a 90-day plan turns into a formality.
The newcomer's journey: from preboarding to the final review
Preboarding — before day one
We prepare the workstation, equipment, access and contract. The risk is that the newcomer arrives on day one without a computer or access to systems. We neutralize it with a preparation checklist with named owners (IT, office manager, line manager) and a checkpoint 2–3 days before the start date.
Day one
Meeting the team, a company overview, the rules. The risk is information overload and a sense of being lost. We neutralize it by limiting day one to the essentials and assigning a personal guide — a buddy.
Week one
Learning the processes, meetings with key colleagues, first simple tasks. The risk is that the newcomer is left without tasks and starts doubting their choice. We neutralize it by giving them a first deliverable within 3–5 days, even a small one.
30 days
Working independently on tasks within the role, the first progress review. The risk is that the manager forgets the check-in, assuming the newcomer has already settled in. We neutralize it by putting a mandatory check-in in the calendar rather than relying on the manager's initiative.
60–90 days
Reaching full workload and independence. The risk is that a mismatch between expectations and the real role comes to light too late. We neutralize it by having an open conversation about expectations versus reality before probation ends.
Final review on day 90
A formal wrap-up of the onboarding period and a decision on further development. The risk is that the review is a formality unconnected to actual results. We neutralize it by comparing results against specific criteria set on day one.
The cross-cutting risk of the whole process is gaps between stages: when each step is run by a different person with no overall process owner, nobody sees the full picture and the newcomer drops out of sight.
What failed onboarding costs
Failed onboarding costs more than it seems, because the expenses are made up of several parts, not just re-hiring:
- Direct hiring costs. The recruiter, job ads, the manager's time in interviews.
- Lost productivity while the role is vacant. Until the position is filled, tasks either stall or fall on colleagues.
- Training costs. The mentor's time, course access, materials.
- Unrealized productivity. In the first months a newcomer works at a fraction of full capacity, but the company pays a full salary.
- Load on the team. Colleagues who train the newcomer lose part of their own productivity.
Example: a manager with a salary of 400,000 ₸ leaves in month 2 because there was no induction training and the goals were unclear. A rough calculation:
| Cost item | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Salary for 2 months with no return | 800,000 ₸ |
| HR and manager time on hiring and onboarding | ~150,000 ₸ |
| Re-hiring (agency/ads) | 200,000–400,000 ₸ |
| Vacancy downtime (1–2 months of unfinished tasks) | from 300,000 ₸ |
| Total | ≈ 1.5–2 million ₸ |
The total is 3–5 times the employee's monthly salary — and that is before reputational losses and the impact on the motivation of the remaining team.
How to calculate the cost of failed onboarding: a formula
To calculate the cost of onboarding and its failure consistently rather than by eye, a simple formula helps:
Cost of failed onboarding = salary for the period before leaving + hiring and training costs + cost of vacancy downtime + re-hiring.
How to calculate each element:
- Salary before leaving — salary × number of months worked. Taken from payroll records.
- Hiring and training costs — recruiter/agency fees, job ads, and the hours the manager and mentor spent on interviews and training, multiplied by their hourly rate.
- Cost of vacancy downtime — number of days without the employee × average revenue or value of the tasks that were not done.
- Re-hiring — the same items as for the first hire, now including the time lost.
Where to get the data: salaries and dates from the HR system, hiring costs from the ATS or recruitment budget, task downtime directly from the manager.
How to use the figure: compare the average cost of a failure with the budget for implementing systematic onboarding — templates, checklists, automated access provisioning. If reducing first-year turnover by even 5–10% covers the cost of implementation, the investment pays off.
Sample email to a buddy
A buddy often agrees to the role without understanding its boundaries. The email below sets out the expectations and how long the role lasts.
Subject: You are the buddy for [newcomer's name]
Hello,
On [date], [name] joins the team, and we are asking you to be their buddy for the first 30 days. This is not mentoring or performance assessment — your task is simpler: to be the person they can come to with any question without feeling awkward.
What is expected:
- on day one — get acquainted and show them where everything is (chats, documents, the team calendar);
- in week one — set aside 15–20 minutes a day to answer questions and help with the first tasks;
- until day 30 — check in 1–2 times a week and explain the team's unwritten rules and usual practices;
- if you see the person getting lost or stuck on the same thing — tell HR or the manager, do not wait until day 30.
What is not part of your role: assessing probation results and assigning work tasks — that is the manager's area. Your role is to be a guide, not a supervisor.
Thank you for agreeing to help — it makes a real difference to how quickly the newcomer reaches full productivity.
Preboarding checklist
A checklist only works if every item has a named owner and a deadline.
| Task | Owner | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Prepare the employment contract and HR documents | HR / office manager | 5 working days before the start date |
| Order a computer/equipment and set up the workstation | IT | 3 working days before the start date |
| Create accounts, email and system access | IT | 2 working days before the start date |
| Prepare the desk, pass and stationery | Office manager | 2 working days before the start date |
| Assign a buddy and brief them | Line manager | 5 working days before the start date |
| Draw up a task plan for the first week | Line manager | 3 working days before the start date |
| Let the team know about the new employee | Line manager | 2 working days before the start date |
The checkpoint is 2–3 days before the start date: HR collects statuses from all owners and checks that the contract is signed, equipment and access are ready, the desk is set up, and the buddy and first-week plan are in place. If something is not ready, there is still time to fix it before day one rather than after.
